Satteeleb aenold



(No Model.)

s. ARNOLD.

DEVICE FOR'STRAIGHTENING AND EVENING FABRICS FOR SEWING MACHINES.

nurnn STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

SATTERLEE ARNOLD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DEVICE FOR STRAIGHTENING AND EVENING FABRICS FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 378,823, dated February 28, 1888.

Application filed March 4,1887. Serial No. 229,692. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SATTERLEE ARNOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Straightening and Evening Fabrics for Presentation to Stitch-Forming Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a guiding device for straightening or uncurling the edges of two pieces of fabric, and also for automatically evening said edges, to cause them to register accurately with each other as they are guided to a stitch-forming mechanism, the present in vention differing from. those embraced by my Patent No. 313,909, dated March 17, 1885, and my application Serial N o. 229, 691,filed simultaneously herewith, in that the present straightening and evening device or evener is adapted for operation as an ordinary sewing-machine attachment without the use of the guide-plates, such as are shown in my said patent and application.

To this end my improved evener consists of three connected springplates placed on top of each other and being preferably bent slightly, so that their free or acting ends have a tendency to separate (when not pressed together) to permit of the easy introduction of the work. The two outer plates have outwardly'turned forward ends and beveled front edges, and serve as straightening or smoothing plates to straighten or uncurl the edges of such fabrics as knit goods, which are unusually difficult to present accurately to a stitch-forming mechanism. The outer end of the central plate serves as a separator-plate or divider to hold the edges to be evened out of frictional contact with each other, so that one can move relatively to the other as they are broughtinto register by an inclined guide or deflector at the inner edge of the divider and extending on both sides thereof through apertures formed in the straightening plates, the work-plate of the machine being also preferably recessed or cut away for the reception of the lower edge of the said deflector. The three spring-plates are connected together, so that they may separate at their free ends without losing their proper adjustment, this connection of the said plates being preferably effected by a single pin or rivet, on which any one or more of them may be turned as a pivot, if desired, for adjustment of the work or other purpose. The entire device or evener is attached to the workplate of the machine by ascrew passing through slots in the saidplates, said slots permitting of the proper adjustment of the evener relative to the needle. The plates of the evcncr when bent to spring apart, as described, to facilitate the introduction of the work, are pressed together when in operation by an adjustable stop, which is preferably movable with the feed-wheel or presser-foot of the machine, so that when the latter is lowered, after the work has been introduced beneath the needle, the said plates will be simultaneously forced into their proper operative positions.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view showing a portion of my sewingmachine with my improved evener applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan, partly in horizontal section. Fig. 3 is a detail front view of the evener with the plates sprung apart, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the evener with the parts separated.

A denotes a portion of the bracket-arm of the machine; A, the work-plate; A the base of the machine, having an extension, A, supporting the supplemental vvorlcplate A Bis the needle-bar, and b the needle, the said bar reciprocating vertically in the swinging frame 0, which is or maybe operated to impart lateral movements to the said bar and needle by mechanism such as described in my patent, No. 33l,106,dated November 24, 1885, or in my application, Serial No. 203,028,filed May 22, 1886; and D is the feed-wheel, which may also be operated by mechanism such as described in my said application. The said feed-wheel is supported by a carrier, D, on a round stud, d, sustained by the bracketarm, and through which extends the shaft carrying the feed wheel-operating pinion d, the said pivoted carrier having a handle, (1", by which it may be turned to lift the feed-wheel, and the latter being pressed against the work by a spiral spring, d, attached to an arm, (1 on the feedwheel carrier and to some other part of the machine.

My improved evener, to which the present invention specially relates, consists of the IOU spring-plates F, F, and G, preferably connected together near their rear ends by the single pin or rivet f, located centrally of the width of the said plates, so that they will register from a common center, the said plates having the slotsf forthe reception of the attaching-screw H, and the said slots admitting of a limited adjustment of the evener relative to the needle. The working ends of the plates F F serve as straightening-plates to uncurl the edges of the goods, the said ends being provided with horns or projecting extensionsf the extremities of which are bent away from each other. The outer end, G, of the plate G serves as a separator-plate or divider, and the said plate G carries the inclined guide or deflector I, arranged at the inner edge of the divider G, so as to deflect the edges of the fabrics to be evened toward the line of the needle, the said deflector being shown in the present instance as being provided with the stitch-holding finger i, the purpose of which is fully described in my aforesaid application filed simultaneously herewith. The said deflector I extends on both sides of the said divider G through recesses formed in the plates F and F, the lower edge of the said deflector extending into an opening or recess formed in the work-plate.

The divider G is shown in the present instance as having a projecting portion, g, provided with an opening, 9, through which the operator can see the edge of the lower piece of fabric, said opening partly registering with an opening, a, in the work-plate A, and any fibers or dirt scraped from the passing fabrics by the straightening-plates can fall through the said openings and will thus avoid being carried to the stitch-forming mechanism.

The plates F, F, and G are preferably bent somewhat, so that they will normally spring apart at their free ends, as shown in Fig. 8, to facilitate the introduction of the work, the said plates being, when in operation, pressed as closely together as may be desired by a holding-stop, which is preferably made adjustable to accommodate different thicknesses of goods. The said holding-stop, as herein shown, consists of a screw, J, tapped in a lug, it, carried by an arm, K, attached to the covering-plate d of the feed-wheel, so that when the said wheel is lowered after the work has been introduced to the needle the evener will be simultaneously closed, ready for operation. If my evening device be used in connection with an ordinary presser-foot, instead of the pressing and feeding wheel herein shown, (and which is the equivalent of an ordinary presserfoot as a cloth presser or holder,) the pressingstop may be made movable with the said presser-foot by being connected with the shank thereof by an arm like the arm K; or the said holding-stop, instead of being made movable with the feed-wheel or presser-foot, may .be carried by a pivoted arm or button, K, such as is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 as being thrown back to release the plates of the evener. Instead, however, of bending the svaeze plates of the evener so that they normally spring apart, as above described, they may be bent so that they will normally spring together, and in such case the pressing-stop may be dispensed with, as the working ends of the plates F and F will serve as pressers to slightly clamp and thus properly hold the passing fabrics.

In the use of myimproved evener in sewing the feed-wheel is raised to permit the evenerplates to spring apart for the easy introduction of the work, and the edges of the latter are then drawn through the evener to the needle and beneath the feeding-wheel. The latter is then lowered, and the holding-stop movable therewith closes the evener. The machine is then started, and as the feed-wheel draws the work through the evener to the needle the straightening-plates smooth the edges of the goods,while the inclined guide or deflector I brings the said edges (passing on opposite sides of the divider G, and therefore out of frictional contact with each other) into exact register, and as the rear side of the said inclined guide or deflector is closely adjacent to the needle and the gripping portion of the feed-wheel the fabrics are securely held while being sewed, so that the stitches may be made as close to the evened edges as may be desired without requiring particular attention and skill on the part of the operator. The distance of the stitches from the edges of the goods is determined by the adjustment of the evener or by the extent of the lateral movements of the needle if the goods are being sewed by an overseam.

It will be noted that my evener constructed, as hereinbefore described, for use without guide-plates, such as are shown in my patent No. 313,909 and in my other application filed simultaneously herewith, has the inclined extensions or horns f projecting beyond the feed-wheel, so as to secure a proper hold on the goods to be straightened and evened, thus securing the efficient operation of my device when used alone or without the guide-plates.

Certain features of the present invention are essentiallythe same as those of the evener shown in my other application, Serial N 0. 229,691, filed herewith; but such features are not herein claimed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent-- 1. An evener consisting of the combination of two outer plates, a central separator-plate or divider, and an inclined guide or deflector at the inner edge of the divider and extending on both sides of the latter into recesses in the said outer plates, the said three plates being all connected together at one point, so as to register from a common center.

2. In an evener, the combination, with a central separator-plate or divider and an inclined guide or deflector at the inner edge of the divider and extending on both sides thereof, of two outer straightening plates or pressers attached to the said divider and having their IIO free ends movable relative thereto, so that the said plates may be separated for the introduction of the work. 1

3. In an evener, a separator plate or divider, an inclined guide or deflector at the inner edge of the divider and extending on both sides thereof, and one or more straightening plates or pressers bent to have their free ends spring apart from the said divider, combined with a holding stop adapted to impinge against the upper of said plates to close them together.

4. The combination, with the straighteningplates, the central separator-plate or divider, and the deflector, said plates being bent to spring apart at their free ends normally, of a device to press on the work and a stop vertically movable with the said work-pressing device for closing the said plates together.

5. The combination, with the straighteningplates, the central separator-plate or divider, and the deflector, said plates being bent to spring apart at their free ends, of the pressing feed-wheel and a stop vertically movable with the latter forpressing on and thus closing said plates together when the said wheel is lowered.

6. An evener consisting of the combination of a central separator-plate or divider, an inclined guide or deflector at the inner edge of the latter, and two outer pressing or straightening plates, the working ends of which are movable toward and from the said divider.

7. The combination, with the divider G and the inclined guide or deflector at the inner edge of the same, of the straightening-plates F and F, having the inclined horns or projectionsf substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination,with the machine workplate having the opening a, of the divider G, having the projection g, provided with the opening 9, the inclined guide or deflector I at the inner edge of the said divider, and the straightening-plates F and F, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afflx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, SATTERLEE ARNOLD.

Witnesses:

PEROIVAL J. PARRIS, EDWARD L. PARRIS. 

